A promise
by thelonehanyou
Summary: Zack and Aerith are childhood friends but they are seperated when Aerith leaves town.Five years have passed since then and they are both reunited once again as feelings for each other start to bloom more disaster strikes.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hi guys this is one of my first few fan fics, this story is based on characters that are present during FFVII Crisis Core so for those who haven't played it yet it may sound confusing. Thanks and I'll hope you'll enjoy. Give me your reviews,comments and suggestions.  
**

**Zack Fair: Age 12**

**Aerith Gainsborough: Age 9**

**Genesis: Age 12**

**CHAPTER 1: Separation**

Rain started to fall heavily as the SHINRA army lay waste to the group of renegades that caused havoc in the town.

"Everyone get out of here, Run!!" The village mayor said as he was running for his dear life with his wife and children running by his side.

People started screaming and shouting as more and more gunshots were heard. Children cried and ran to the gates while Mothers and Fathers huddled their children tight as they run and hide.

"Daddy I'm scared" a little girl with a red ribbon on her hair dressed in a white dress tugging at the young mayor's shirt.

"We'll be fine as long as we can hide from them". The young mayor said as he looks at his daughter and hugging her tight.

"Grr, why do they have to pick our town for their own selfish wars" a boy in a black shirt and white shorts, with brown hair said.

"We don't have a choice those gang of renegades own our town, don't worry once the Shinra Army liberates our town were free from them once and for all." their mother enthusiastically said as she hugged her two children tight.

"Well I can Fight them on my own!" the young boy said as he ran away from his family and joined his friends into fighting both Shinra and the renegades.

"Genesis, Stop this!!" The mayor said as he ran after his boy along with the mother.

"Aaaahhh!! Daddy,Mommy help!!" the little girl screamed

"No Aerith!!, my daughter no pls don't take her." Her mother rushed in to save her little child from being used as a hostage.

Then suddenly, a gunshot was heard loud and clear a civilian was just shot just as the last of the army exterminated the renegades. The little girl cried and cried with blood covered all over her once white dress.

"No!! Mommy!!" the little girl cried and cried until she fainted under the rain that almost seemed that the Heavens where crying with her.

A few months after the incident…..

"Hey, give that back to me bro come on give it back already. Give me back my ribbon!!" the little girl said now recovered from her trauma and lost of a mother.

"No way little brat!!, I'm better than you so stay put!" smacking his little sister on the head. "Maybe that will teach you to be quiet."

"HEY!!, don't pick on her like that. You hurt her you have to go through me first." a boy at the same age as the little girl's brother with spiky black hair and wearing a black jacket and a grey shirt with matching black cargo pants appeared.

"Well look at here guys a little puppy just came through"

"I'm not a Puppy!! C'mon Genesis give her ribbon back and don't beat her up. She's your sister for heaven's sake". The boy with spiky hair said.

"Make me you little puppy c'mon guys let's show him a thing or too about messing around with our gang" Genesis said as he ordered his subordinates to attack the boy.

"Bring it on!!"

After a few hours of fighting "You'll regret this Zack, one day you'll pay for always protecting that little brat." Genesis ran to his house and so did the other kids.

"You know, you shouldn't let him boss you like that Aerith, it wasn't really your fault you know that." The boy with spiky hair now with a scar on his cheek said.

"I know but still he hated me since the day I was born, you know that Zack and since then you always get in trouble for protecting me". Aerith practically replied with her face still sad from the thought of the incident.

"C'mon Aerith you know I'll always be here for you, I ain't gonna go nowhere, ok?"

"Thanks Zack, really thanks"

"No prob, kitty haha, I'll be here for you no matter what" Zack said as he gave Aerith a little hug.

"Uhm Zack I have to tell you something,"

"What is it Aerith, something the matter?" Zack as usual said with a worried tone and look on his face.

"Were leaving, Gongaga tonight. Were going to go live in MIdgar, my dad decided that we should leave town now that my Mom's gone so he took a job inside the Shinra company." Aerith said while trying to hold back the tears.

"NO, way!!. You're leaving so soon." Zack practically woke up the whole town with his loud voice.

"I know.. I'm sorry Zack were gonna go tonight. I'm really sorry. I'll Miss you" Aerith wrapped her hands on Zack and hugged him so tight while crying so hard.

"Will I ever see you again??"

"I don't know…but I hope so. I don't wanna go away and leave my childhood friend you know?" said Aerith with a smile on her face.

"Well don't worry I promise I'll find you and I'll keep on protecting you once I'm all grown up, I'll go to Midgar and I'll come visit you." Zack with a wide grin on is face.

"You promise?"

"Promise!"

"BEEP!!"

"Aerith it's time to go, we need to make it to Midgar tomorrow or else I'll be fired from my job". Aerith's father said as he turned on the car.

"I gotta go Zack... I'm sorry….We'll see each other again won't we?"

"Yeah we will….I promise…" Zack said as Aerith"s silhouette began to disappear before him as he heard the sound of their car and moving truck going out of the towns gates.

**Well that's it for the first chapter feel free to give comments and suggestions.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey guys I'm sorry for being late to update it I'm having a hard time squeezing to type it all on the computer.**

**  
Zack Fair: Age 17**

**  
Aerith Gainsborough: Age 14**

**  
Genesis: Age 17**

**  
Cloud Strife: Age 13**

**  
Tifa Lockheart: Age 13**

**  
Barret: Age 19**

**  
Chapter 2: Reunion**

**FIVE YEARS LATER**

"Ahhh, this feels great… I didn't know Midgar was this large" a boy with spiky hair and a scar on his face wearing black cargo pants and a black tank top for boys with a huge sword on his back said as he was walking on the busy streets.

"Alright this here's my first day… I better make myself useful as a mercenary for hire or else I won't earn enough money to buy myself a house here."

So he went off to search for a place to stay until he saw a bar near Sector 7.

"7th Heaven huh?? Now that's a catchy name….I guess I'll just start here they might be interested in hiring me as their bouncer or for a job or something." the mysterious boy said as he walked into the bar to find someone making a huge ruckus.

"Whaddya say to me?!." a young guy wearing a brown jacket and a pair of shorts with a gun as his left hand aiming for the head of a young boy who seems kinda familiar to him, carrying a red sword on his right.

"I'm saying that you should know your place!!" the boy said as he swung his sword and almost thrust it in the gut of the gun wielding guy if it weren't for a huge sword blocking the way.

"Hey!!, Back off!!...Wait a second aren't you??" The spiky haired boy said as he was getting ready to fend off another attack with his huge sword.

"Well Whaddya know the little puppy came back… Remember me pup" The boy carrying the red sword said as he was wearing a red coat to match. "You'll pay for meddling with my affairs, c'mon you runts get him."

"Well what are you waiting for guys take him down." as he leaned to the back he saw his members down on the ground.

"Oh sorry about that Genesis…Guess I took care of them a little earlier before you noticed, I already learned from what happened a while back." the spiky haired boy said with a smirk on his face.

"You'll regret this puppy, it's your lucky day Barret you best enjoy your life with your little sister while you're at it. Just remember if you don't have that money that you owe me we the members of SOLDIER will come at you so watch out." he exclaimed as he left the scene with a bunch of other guys.

"Well never seen a lot of guys that will stand up to that gang of theirs, name's Barret I own this joint." The guy exclaimed as he stood up.

"The name's Zack Fair a mercenary for hire, just give me a call if you want me to do something I'm an all around mercenary." said the spiky haired boy as he sat on the chair waiting for the bar tender to give him a drink or two.

"Well you're welcome to stay here for the night, you're a mercenary, I see… No wonder you don't know SOLDIER and you had actually the guts to stand up to them, this town could use I guy like you." Barret said as he walked to the door at the back. "Hey Tifa why don't you bring this guy a drink it's on me."

Then a girl with long black hair appeared wearing a black tank top with white shorts.

"Sure bro, oh hey never seen you around heard you're a mercenary Zack right??" the young girl said as she gave him a drink.

"That's me alright, hey your kinda young to be tending a bar at least for me that is your brother don't seem to care about your age that much?" as he drank his beer a young guy with blonde hair came. He was carrying a huge sword like his and he was wearing a blue shirt, covered with a black jacket and black cargo pants.

"Oh hey Cloud!" shouted Tifa as she ran to hug the new arrival. "Glad you drop by, how's it going around with the monster hunting??"

"Pretty good actually, met with SOLDIER again can't Genesis give you guys a break, he's been running after his money not that he's poor or anything he actually has a lot of money to spare." Cloud said as he sat right next to Zack.

"So you must be the mercenary that kicked Genesis out of this place huh? I've heard about you from one of the thugs out here, the name's Cloud Strife hunter by trade." Cloud said as he extended a hand to Zack.

"Yup that will be me, the name's Zack Fair mercenary for hire. Well looks like I'm pretty famous now huh?" Zack wondered with a huge grin on his face.

"Of course you are kid, nobody stands up to them well maybe except for the three of us here." Barret said as he reappeared again.

"Bro's right you know, only a few stand up to them and that includes me, I can fight pretty well you know. I'm not just some girl." Tifa remarked as she poured a drink for Cloud.

"You right about that Tifa, you actually beat them up real good last time, should've seen their faces haha being beaten up by a girl, which kinda reminds me…" Cloud said as he was reaching out something on his pocket.

"Yo, Barret catch… that's half of what he needs. The only problem is we need another half... and it's difficult to hunt monsters out of here…I need to go further to have more money." Cloud said as he got his sword. "Well I better be off now, See ya tomorrow…oh hey Zack since you're a mercenary why don't we go out tomorrow. I heard there's a huge snake that's worth a lot of money if we bring back its meat and skin."

"Yeah that will be great. I definitely need a job, maybe being a hunter won't be too bad at all." Zack grinned "See ya tomorrow buddy."

"Yeah sure, oh Tifa catch a movie this Saturday night pick you up at 8:00 pm sharp alright. And then Cloud went off riding his motorcycle.

"Nice crew you have here, you pretty much like a family huh??" Zack claimed as he drank his last beer.

"Yeah…We kinda are, growing up with no parents at all except my brother that's really something…anyways I wouldn't dwell on my past what's the story with you since your gonna stay here for the night." as she took the bottle and washed the dishes.

"Well I came from Gongaga, I was a mercenary there too…I promised somebody that I'll go here to find her, that's why I went to Midgar." he sighed with a sad thought on his head_ "If Genesis is here then so is she, hope I can find her who knows what he did to her."_

Then suddenly a scream that sounded too familiar to Zack sounded off from the streets and a large roar soon followed.

"I know that scream from anywhere…Tifa stay here I'll be right back" grabbing his sword he ran out the bar to see what was all the commotion.

It was a behemoth that was lose on the streets of Midgar.

"No way, a behemoth loose on the streets...This isn't any ordinary outbreak of monsters." Zack exclaimed as he took out his sword just then he noticed a familiar figure in front of him

"Your right it's my idea, that girl needs to know where she lies."

It was Genesis, staring at Zack and handling his sword with grace.

"You never change do you Genesis!" Zack said with fury in his eyes.

"Well that's what a little orphan gets!!" Genesis said followed by an evil laughter.

"You won't get away with this." Zack said as he headed right for Genesis but before he could deal a blow a scream broke Zack's concentration.

"Think again." as he pointed out where the scream came from Genesis disappeared at once in a puff of smoke

"Help!!" a young girl with a pink ribbon wearing a white dress shouted as she was cornered by the large beast.

"Aerith get down!!" as if right on cue Zack ran to behemoth and slashed it in half.

"You really need me around don't you??" Zack said as he knelt down to the young girl. "Promised you I'd protect you."

"Zack!!" said Aerith as she hugged Zack so tight.

"Don't worry, I'm here… I won't let anybody hurt you or anything. "Zack said as he comforted his old childhood friend and carried her into the bar.

**  
A/N: Well that concludes this chapter. I hope you guys will enjoy reading this one.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Thank you for those who reviewed and I'm sorry if I'm a little late in writing, I don't really have too many ideas nowadays.**

**Angeal Hewley: Age 17**

**Chapter 3: Attack of the Midgar Zolom**

"Aerith what are you doing around here it's dangerous to be out this time of night shouldn't you be in your house or something?" Zack asked curiously as he came out of the bar holding some water. "Here have some glass of water; it must be a shocker being chased around by that Behemoth."

"Oh you mean fluffy?" Aerith asked as she laughed with a sad look in her eyes.

"Fluffy??" Zack with a shocked look almost spitted out the water in his mouth instead he choked.

"Wait you don't mean that behemoth is your…"

"Pet??"

"Yeah…I mean it's kinda weird you know" Zack confused as ever was really having a hard time imagining a behemoth as a pet. "I mean those kind of monsters are dangerous."

"With a brother like Genesis, who knows how he got that beast… It used to be so playful until he used it to terrorize Midgar." Aerith said hoping Zack didn't notice her teary eyes.

"You know, you should fight back stand up to him I mean."

"C'mon Zack are you here to give me a lecture or are you hear to comfort me?" Aerith said with a sarcastic tone.

"Hey, easy Aerith, well looks like you grew up."

"Of course I did, I can't keep depending on you always."

"Well you got a point about that, I mean I have been gone for about 5 years." Zack said spacing out a little and looking at the stars.

"Hey, where do you actually live here anyways??"

"Who, me?? uhm…..I…." just before Aerith could finish her sentence a man with black hair carrying a huge sword on his back appeared wearing a black tank top for boys and black cargo pants and some shoulder pads.

"I've been looking all over for you… shouldn't you be home right about now." the mysterious man said with a smirk as he eyed Zack.

"Ohh… I'm sorry, Genesis send Fluffy after me so I had to take a little detour…"

"Hey what's the big deal with you?" Zack said as he eyed the Mysterious man apparently he was already glaring.

"Easy there… well you're like a restless puppy did anybody tell you that…" then the man chuckled as he took Aerith by the hand. "We have to get you home its way past your curfew young lady."

"Hey?! I'm not a puppy…and where are you taking her?!" Zack readied his sword for battle, and readied his stance hoping to lunge for an attack.

As he hoped for the man to ready his sword as well he just gave him a smirk and ignored him.

"Don't worry Zack I'll be fine, he's my guardian." Aerith said as she gave Zack

a little wink. "I'll just come back tomorrow alright??"

"Uhm……wait a second Aerith."

"No time Zack, I gotta go…I'll just drop by tomorrow alright??"

With that the mysterious man and Aerith vanished as they ran to catch the train.

"Well…that was certainly a quick reunion." Tifa said as she was sitting on the stairs. "Looks like you got bested again lover boy."

'I didn't and I don't have a crush with Aerith."

"Hey, it was just a joke don't get so caught up you know. Oh and you can't rely just on your sword if you know what I mean."

"Hmph, my sword can slash anything care to try and see." Zack said pretty confident himself. "Or are you just afraid cause you're a girl." apparently teasing Tifa was not a good sight for anyone to see.

"_Yawn…_ well glad you ask I am so gonna kick your ass…" Tifa said as she fixed her gloves and executed a fighting stance. "Ready or not here I come."

Then Tifa jumped into the air and aimed a kick right into Zack as if wasting no time at all apparently he hasn't even drawn out his sword yet. Lucky for him he got out of the way just in time and draw his sword at the same time.

"Whoa!! Slow down a little." Zack said as he was trying to find balance.

"No can do chief."

Then Tifa barraged him with a bunch of punches and somersaults and managed to get Zack off guard then punched him hard in the stomach.

Zack fell over the ground, holding his stomach. _"Nice shot she's really fast…Ow that really hurts."_

"Enough!" Barret said as he shouted in front of the door.

"Tifa go back to your room, oh yeah and nice job beating him senseless." Barret said as he patted Tifa on the head ruining her hair.

"The pleasure was all mine." Tifa laughing her heart out went in the bar. "Goodnight Zack hahaha looks like you'll need to practice building up your speed if you know what I mean."

"Why you little….."

"Zack, you should really work on your speed and stance there ain't no way your gonna beat anybody with that, you just got wasted by a thirteen year old." Barret said. _"I feel sorry for that kid."_

"She got lucky that's what I call it but how did she get that fast." Zack pretty confused and shocked on what just happened.

"When you grow up all by yourself here in Midgar with no parents you tend to train a lot harder to survive." Barret exclaimed as he went in and urged Zack to follow. "Since you lost, your gonna have to sleep over here on the floor."

"What?! Oh man!"

"Haha sleep tight you got a monster to hunt tomorrow."

"Hey Bro, c'mon can't I go with them it's about time I can go monster hunting."

"No can do Tifa, I need you to watch the bar without a young lady here tending it we got no income besides Zack and Cloud might be able to handle this one." Barret said before he went inside his room.

"What a weird day….hmph oh well guess I better rest up. We need to catch a pretty big monster…I don't need no training…one day I'll show them…I'll be hero…" with that Zack apparently tired and all slept the night away.

**THE NEXT DAY**

"C'mon Cloud where's that monster I thought you said it was just near here." Zack said.

"What are you whining about, quit yapping and let's go." Cloud with an irritated look said as they headed into a swampy area.

"Damn what is this place…"

"This is the home of the Midgar Zolom.

"The Midgar what??" Zack confused as ever. "What's that?"

"You'll soon find out"

"Don't keep your guard down, here it comes!."

Then as if right on cue a giant snake came up from the marsh and proceeded to strike Cloud and Zack.

"Heads up." Cloud exclaimed as he avoided the snake's tackle with ease.

"Got you now Hiyaah!!." Zack said as he got out of the way and strike back with his sword while the giant snake was trapped in the rubble.

"All right direct hit." Zack said with a smirk on his face. "Not so tough now isn't it."

"Don't keep your guard down, It's not over yet" Cloud readied his sword.

"Here's how you do things in Midgar, Hiyaaahhhh!!" Cloud slashed through the snakes hide apparently killing it.

"So that was the infamous Midgar Zolom, that wasn't much of a fight." Zack with a cocky smile to match said.

"No, this isn't that snake… This was its mate." Cloud with a worried look on his face.

"Zack, we gotta go now! This ain't good you can't fight with that beast if its mad."

"Right behind you."

Just then a large snake appeared before them with hungry eyes.

"That's the one that's the Midgar Zolom."

"Well we got nowhere to run so… c'mon let's do this."

Just as they were about to strike it, the large snake swung its tail, hard enough to hit Cloud and Zack and flung them high in the air.

"Were no match for this dude." Zack said barely getting up.

Then a familiar figure came and hacked away the beast with just one swing of his Giant sword.

"How did you??" Zack said in awe as the mysterious man came forth.

"Well it's the ever restless puppy, you two shouldn't be here in a place like this apparently you didn't take Aerith's example last night." The man lifted Cloud and gave Zack a hand to get up.

"Hey wait the second who are you anyways."

"Angeal……Angeal Hewley." the mysterious man said with a mysterious smile.

**A/N: That's about it folks, give me your comments and suggestions I'll be waiting.**


End file.
